1999: Kargil war

Introduction
The Kargil Conflict was fought in high altitude mountains of Ladakh. This region is sparsely
populated and it consists of diverse religious, linguistic and ethnic groups in one of the
world’s highest mountains. India and Pakistan fought for Jammu and Kashmir in 1947-1948
and the battle ended with the cease fire line which bisects the Baltistan district. Kargil was
on the Indian Territory in the Ladakh subdivision of Jammu and Kashmir. Both India and
Pakistan went to war in 1965 and 1971. This was the fourth conflict after independence.
Previous this time Pakistan had sent infiltrators on the quiet who occupied important heights
in the mountains. It became necessary to evict them from the heights.
Background- reasons for the outbreak
During 1998, several intrusions were carried out by the Pakistani sides in the places of
Mushkon Valley, Marpo La near Drass, Kaksar near Kargil, Chorbatla sector and Turtok sector
south of the Siachen area. The reason behind Pakistan reoccupying the India post in the LoC
was to dominate the towns of Kargil and Drass, internationalise the Siachen glacier and
Kashmir issue. In Batalik sector, an attack was carried out by the enemy troops over the
Indian army who were on routine patrolling duty, under the team led by Capt. Saurabh Kalia.

Here are some key reasons behind the Kargil War in 1999 between India and Pakistan,
presented in bullet points:

Territorial Dispute: The conflict stemmed from the long-standing territorial dispute
over the region of Kashmir, which has been a source of contention between India and
Pakistan since partition in 1947.
Infiltration by Pakistani Forces: Pakistani soldiers and militants infiltrated into
the Kargil district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, aiming to seize control of
strategic positions along the Line of Control (LoC).
Strategic Considerations: Pakistan aimed to cut off the strategic highway
connecting the regions of Ladakh and Kashmir, which could have significantly hindered
India's access to the region.
Desire to Internationalize the Kashmir Issue: Pakistan sought to
internationalize the Kashmir conflict by drawing attention to the region through military
action, potentially gaining leverage in negotiations with India and the international
community.
Domestic Political Factors: The conflict also had domestic political implications for
both India and Pakistan, with leaders in both countries facing pressure to respond forcefully
to the situation.
Historical Context: The Kargil War was not an isolated event but rather occurred
within the broader context of the India-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir, which has seen
multiple wars and skirmishes since partition.
Operation Vijay
There were three major phases to the Kargil War.
 First, Pakistan infiltrated forces into the Indian-controlled section of Kashmir and
occupied strategic locations. This enabled it to bring the road connecting Drass and
Kargil within range of its artillery fire. (See fig 1.) This is how the Pakistan army
infiltrated and occupied the heights of Kargil. Pakistan called its operation Al Badar
(Operation Badr).
 The next stage consisted of India discovering the infiltration and mobilising forces to
respond to it.
 The final stage involved major battles by Indian and Pakistani forces resulting in India
recapturing the territories held by Pakistani forces and the subsequent withdrawal of
Pakistani forces back across the Line of Control.
1) In military terms ‘Operation Vijay’ was a limited conflict with 2 to 3 Divisions involved
on both sides. Apart from keeping the plan top secret, the Pakistan Army also
undertook certain steps to maintain surprise and deception.
2) Unlike other similar high-altitude areas, the Kargil Mountains lose snow cover rapidly
as the summer progresses. Below the peaks and the ridgelines are loose rocks, which
make climbing extremely difficult. The movement of the troops is slow, laborious and
time consuming.
3) The Intruders on the heights were a mixture of professional soldiers and mercenaries.
They included the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 12th battalions of some Pakistan Army’s
Northern Light Infantry (NLI). Among them were some Mujahideen and members of
Pakistan’s Special Services Group (SSG). It was initially estimated that there were about
500 to 1,000 intruders occupying the heights but later it was estimated that the actual
strength of the intruders may have been about 5,000.
4) The infiltrators, apart from being equipped with small arms (rifles and machine
guns) and grenade launchers, were also armed with mortars, artillery and antiaircraft
guns. Many posts were also heavily mined.

 Indian Army Operations

(a) The Indian Army detected the intrusions between May 3 and May 12, 1999. Strategic
planning for operations was carried out by the Indian Army from May 15 to May 25, 1999.
Such activities included military operations, troops movement, artillery and other equipment
were moved in and the necessary equipment was also purchased from friendly countries. On
May 26, 1999, Indian Army carried out offensive action named Operation VIJAY to evict the
Pakistani intruders.
(b) Indian troops moved towards Pakistani occupied positions with air cover provided by
aircraft and helicopters. However, 1AF was ordered not to cross the LOC as India did not
want to enlarge the scope of war. A joint Infantry Artillery battle with air cover was launched
on regular Pakistani soldiers of the Northern Light Infantry (NLI) who occupied high altitude
mountain peaks and ridgelines. Indian troops deployed firepower that could destroy the
intruders.
(c) About, 250 artillery guns fired on enemy positions to clear the infiltrators. The Bofors FH-
77B field howitzer played a vital role in this operation. An innovative tactics was employment
for Artillery firepower in battle. A massive exchange of fire broke out between the two
groups. Three hundred Artillery guns, mortars and rocket launchers fired approximately
5000 shells, rockets and bombs on a daily basis at the enemy.

The Bofors FH-77B field howitzer

(d) Indian army used the 155 mm Bofors medium guns and 105 mm guns and prevented the
enemy from interfering with the assault. The Artillery fire was so devastating that the Army
captured Tiger Hill and Point 4875 on July 5, Mashkoh Valley on July 7, 1999. The Indian
Army renamed the Point 4875 as “Gun Hill” in honour of the stupendous performance of the
Gunners in the Drass and Mashkoh sub-sectors.
(e) Tiger Hill was bombed with high explosives which caused large-scale death and
devastation and the Indian Artillery fired their 122 mm Grad multi-barrel rocket launchers
(MBRLs). These were employed in the direct firing role audaciously without regard for
personal safety. Even such incidents of the guns firing were telecast in full view of TV
cameras and the nation watched in rapt attention for the first time in history of independent
India.
(f) In the Batalik sector despite heavy casualties the Artillery OPs were established on
dominating heights. Another victory was added when Indian forces recaptured Point 5203
and Khalubar on 21 June and July 6 respectively. With the effective use of artillery guns by
India, the Pakistani forces started suffering casualties and their moral went down.
(g) Firepower played a significant role in weakening the Pakistani defences, destroying its
battalion and headquarters and mainly the logistics supplies. In the Kargil Conflict - 1999
MILITARY HISTORY 7373 Module - V Major Wars Post Independence Note Kargil war the
Indian troops fired over 250, 000 shells, bombs and rockets, i.e. 5,000 shells, mortar bombs
and rockets daily.

 Role of Indian Air Force

The IAF launched an operation called ‘Operation Safed Sagar’ to support the ground troops
during the war. Such role was limited due to the weather condition, high altitude, limited
bomb loads and less number of airstrips. As the terrain in the Kargil area is at 16,000 to
18,000 feet above sea level, it needs well trained personal and special aircrafts.
On May 27, the MiG-27 flown by Flt Lt Nachiketa, while attacking a target in Batalik sector,
developed an engine trouble and he had to bailout. Sqn Leader, Ajay Ahuja, in a MiG-2l,
went out of the way to locate the downed pilot and in the process was hit by a Pakistani
surface- to-air missile (SAM).
He ejected safely but his body bearing gun wounds was returned subsequently by Pakistan.
The state-of-the-art Mirage-2000s along with Mig -29 were used for electronic warfare,
reconnaissance and ground attack carrying free-fall bombs. It also fired the laser-guided
bomb with deadly effects causing considerable destruction to Pakistani bunkers on the
ridges at Tiger Hill and Muntho Dhalo. In the Mirage attack on MunthoDhalo, 180 Pakistani
troops were killed.

 Role of Indian Navy

The Indian Navy blocked the Pakistani ports near Karachi to cut off the supply routes. The
Navy was clear that a reply to the Pakistani misadventure had to be two-pronged. It was
decided by Naval Head Quarters that all efforts must be made to deter Pakistan from
escalating the conflict into a full scale. From May 20 onwards the Indian Navy was on full
alert for launch of the naval retaliatory offensive. Thus, Naval and Coast Guard aircraft were
put on a continuous surveillance and the units readied. Rapid reaction missile boats and
ships from the fleet were deployed in the North Arabian Sea for carrying out missile firing,
anti-submarine and electronic warfare.
Sea Harrier aircrafts can take off vertically and do not need a runway. In ‘Operation Talwar’,
the ‘Eastern Fleet’ joined the ‘Western Naval Fleet’ and blocked the Arabian sea routes of
Pakistan. Later, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif disclosed that the country was
left with just six days of fuel to sustain itself if a full-fledged war had broken out. This also
means that our strategy of blocking the port of Karachi worked.

 American Intervention during Kargil Conflict

During the outbreak of war, Pakistan asked American help in de-escalating the conflict. On
June 18, the G-8 group of the world’s leading industrial nations met at Cologne in Germany,
and asked Pakistan to stop the aggression on the LoC and resume talks with India. The
American President, Bill Clinton refused to intervene until Pakistani troops were fully
withdrawn from the Indian side of the Line of Control. On July 4, Pakistan Prime Minister,
Nawaz Sharif, agreed to remove all his troops and most of the fighting came to a gradual
halt, while some troops remained in the LoC. The United Jihad Council rejected Pakistan plan
for a withdrawal and instead decided to fight on independently. The victory is celebrated as
Kargil Vijay Diwas on 26th July every year (Kargil Victory Day) in India. India resumed its
control of all territory which was established in July 1972 as per the Shimla Agreement.
The World community criticised Pakistan for instigating the war, as both the Pakistan
paramilitary forces and insurgents crossed the Line of Control. Pakistan tries to justify the
world community but its diplomatic stance found few backers on the world stage.

 Role of Indian Media during Kargil Conflict

During the Kargil War, the war stories and war footage were often telecast in Television and
many websites provided deep analysis of the war to the public. This conflict was the first
“live” war in South Asia with detailed media coverage. Newspapers and TV channels were
allowed to be in Kargil and allowed to cover war live. Some other activities related to the
media, which the Indian Government under took were as listed below:
a) The Indian government placed a temporary news ban on Pakistan, banning the telecast of
the state-run Pakistani Channel PTV and blocking access to online editions of the Dawn
newspaper. In turn Pakistan criticized India on curbing the freedom of press in India. Indian
media claimed that the government action was in the interest of National Security.
b) The Indian media ran stories in foreign publications including The Times and The
Washington Post, with creditable details of Pakistan’s role in supporting the extremists in
Kashmir.
Media coverage of the conflict was more intense in India than in Pakistan as war progressed.
Indian channels showed images from the battle zone in a style similar to the coverage of the
Gulf War by CNN (An American News Channel). Reasons behind the increased coverage were
because Indian Government gave opportunity to the media to cover the war live. India has
greater number of privately owned electronic media as compared to Pakistan with freedom
to report. Pakistan journalists agreed in a seminar in Karachi that the Indian government had
taken the press and the people into its confidence. According to some analysts, Indian media
was both larger in number and more credible which may have acted as a force multiplier for
the Indian military operations in Kargil and served as a morale booster.

 The Kargil Review Committee (KRC)

After the war was over the Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee set up an inquiry
about the causes of Indian intelligence failures. The committee was to identify weaknesses
in the organisation of the Armed Forces and suggest remedial measures. The Committee
had, K. Subrahmanyam (Chairman), Lieutenant General (Retd.) K.K. Hazari, B.G. Verghese
and Satish Chandra, Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) who was also
designated as Member-Secretary. The Committee’s findings are based primarily on official
documents, authenticated records and copies of documents. The report was not an
investigation into what happened at Kargil, but a review of the developments and
recommendations as to the measures to be undertaken to prevent such an occurrence in
future. The report also gave for reaching recommendation to restructure our security set up.
You have studied about the number of wars fought by India after independence. Other than
these wars that you have studied, Indian Army has fought bravely in a number of other
places. In Siachen glacier, the Army had to occupy some posts at very high altitudes in
extreme cold temperatures because Pakistanis were trying to occupy the area illegally.
Similarly, our Army was sent to Sri Lanka in 1987 to help the Sri Lankan Government battle
the LTTE. In both these areas our soldiers fought with great valour and were awarded the
highest gallantry award the Param Vir Chakra. Find out the names of the soldiers who were
awarded the PVC in this war.